CANADA STOCKS-TSX climbs on U.S. jobs data, records weekly gain

Reuters Staff

3 Min Read

* TSX rises 84.13 points, or 0.63 percent, to 13,378.33
* Nine of the 10 main index sectors advance
* Talisman climbs 1.6 percent on plans to sell assets
By John Tilak
TORONTO, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on
Friday after data showing a surprise acceleration in U.S. jobs
growth fueled strong gains in financial and energy shares.
The market was also supported by a jump in Talisman Energy
Inc after the oil producer said it would sell a stake
in its natural gas assets in British Columbia's Montney field to
Malaysia-controlled Progress Energy Canada Ltd for C$1.5 billion
($1.44 billion).
Jobs growth in the United States unexpectedly picked up in
October despite the federal government shutdown that month,
suggesting the U.S. budget standoff had a more limited impact on
the economy than initially thought.
The employment figure, however, also raised market anxiety
that the U.S. Federal Reserve might scale back its stimulus
program sooner than expected.
While those concerns made investors pull back earlier in the
day, they later brushed aside worries about the Fed.
"There's so much pent-up demand in the market right now that
investors can drive it up despite the fear of tapering," said
Keith G. Richards, portfolio manager and technical analyst at
ValueTrend Wealth Management.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
closed up 84.13 points, or 0.63 percent, at 13,378.33.
The index recorded a gain of 0.3 percent on the week.
The Canadian benchmark index has added about 5.4 percent in
the past month.
"The development on the TSX is bullish," Richards said,
adding that much of the momentum would favor such areas of the
market as materials, healthcare and mid-cap stocks.
Nine of the 10 main sectors on the index were higher on
Friday.
Financial shares rose 0.9 percent, with Royal Bank of Canada
climbing 0.7 percent to C$70.31 and Toronto-Dominion
Bank gaining 0.8 percent to C$96.61.
The energy sector jumped 1.4 percent. Suncor Energy Inc
climbed 2.2 percent to C$36.87. Talisman rose 1.6
percent to C$12.42.
Gold-mining shares rebounded after an initial selloff,
despite a sharp fall in the price of bullion. In the
group, Goldcorp Inc added 0.8 percent to C$25.71.
Barrick Gold Corp, the world's biggest gold
producer, was in the news after the company indicated that
Chairman Peter Munk was likely to step down at next year's
annual meeting. The stock was up 0.5 percent at C$19.07.
In other company news, Telus Corp reported a 10
percent rise in quarterly profit, sending its shares up 1.7
percent to C$36.90.
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc slipped 2.4 percent
after the company said it would consider issuing equity to help
fund pension obligations after a major asset sale was blocked by
Canada's federal government.
Air Canada's third-quarter results topped market
estimates as a key measure of costs fell. The stock soared 7.2
percent to C$5.99.